Savoy Songbook Vol 1.
The new Savoy album is finished, recorded and mastered. It is called Savoy Songbook Vol. 1, and will work as an introduction to the band outside Norway. The band has been in the studio and has recorded new versions of songs from the previous albums, as well as three brand new songs.
The new Savoy album is finished, recorded and mastered. It is called Savoy Songbook Vol. 1, and will work as an introduction to the band outside Norway. The band has been in the studio and has recorded new versions of songs from the previous albums, as well as three brand new songs.
"The record is finished, and the creative part is done," Paul says. "Now we are working on where the record shall be released." So far we know that the record will be out soon in Norway. "It will be a 'Best of 'album for the Norwegian audience, while abroad the record is meant to be kind of an introduction to the band," Paul explains.
Why did you choose to record the songs again, instead of just releasing them as they are?
"We feel that we have a really good back catalogue, which deserves a bigger audience. The previous albums have been released in Norway and in some other countries. When we decided to make a collection of Savoy songs for a wider release, we wanted to record them again to make it sound fresh. During the years, for instance when we play the songs live, new ideas come up that works really well. Some songs have a new verse; some get a new arrangement. I have always envied Woody Allen who gets to do his films two times; once to see how everything looks, and another time that is the final version. That's the way it should be done," Paul laughs.
The recording session for the new album has also been different than Savoy's earlier albums: "Our previous recordings have been more of a piecemeal," says Paul. "We recorded some parts, and added other instruments little by little. This time we were all sitting in a ring in the studio recording the songs live. Eighty percent of the sound on the songs will be from one take, and the rest is overdubs. This gives the recording session another dynamic."
"The whole production is bigger, with a larger budget. Our previous albums have been recorded at our home studio with small budgets. Now we have been working with a producer, and the record was recorded in LoHo studio in New York."
When Savoy's last album was recorded you had been listening a lot to The Band, which seemed to influence you both musically and aesthetically. Do you have any favourites that might have influenced the recording this time?
Paul laughs. "No, during this recording we have mainly been listening to ourselves," he says.
Savoy Songbook Vol. 1 will be a double album. One CD has new recordings - a mix of old and new songs, and the second CD has 14 of Paul and Lauren's favorite Savoy songs, recorded between 1996 and 2006. The first single, "Karma Boomerang," was released on April 13 in Norway.
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